Storm pounds Reno-Tahoe area, causes property damage, power outages

RENO, Nev. - The first in an expected series of powerful storms hammered the Reno-Tahoe area on Saturday, toppling trees and power lines, damaging roofs and fences, and causing scattered power outages.

The storm dumped as much as a foot of snow in the Lake Tahoe area and was accompanied by wind gusts of up to 110 mph over the Sierra crest and 104 mph in Reno.

"This is just the start," said National Weather Service forecaster Steve Adams. "We're going into a strong moisture plume the next couple of days and I wouldn't be surprised to see another 2 to 3 feet of snow above 6,500 feet by Sunday evening. The winds might still be a problem Sunday as well."

The winds caused scattered power outages in the Reno-Carson City area, including one that affected about 700 customers in Verdi west of Reno and another in southwest Reno that affected about 200 customers.

"We're pretty lucky because they've been relatively small so far," Sierra Pacific Resources spokesman Bob Sagan said Saturday evening. "It's a case of tree branches being blown into lines. There also were some poles sheared."

In northwest Reno, three houses were evacuated late Saturday afternoon after some power lines threatened to fall on them, police said.

In Carson City, traffic on U.S. Highway 395 was rerouted around the Ormsby House Hotel Casino after high winds sent pieces of the resort's roof onto the roadway, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

"Pieces of metal from our boiler room roof have blown off and we have secured them," said Dan Celeste, the resort's manager on duty. "There was no injury to person that I'm aware of. Business is unaffected, we're doing fine."

High winds also caused a tree to fall on a house in the historic west side of the capital city.

And they caused white-out conditions on mountain highways and many Tahoe ski resorts to shut down lifts.

Chains or snow tires were required on most Sierra highways, including Interstate 80 over Donner Summit and U.S. Highway 50 over Echo Summit.

No major accidents were reported.

Trailers and campers were prohibited Saturday on U.S. Highway 395 through Washoe Valley south of Reno because of the winds.

The weather service called for a chance of snow through Monday.

"It has the potential to be one of the strongest sequence of storms of the season," Adams said. "The storms are extended pretty far out into the Pacific."

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